Agency lets students catch Z’s on the job
September 1, 1997 2 minutes read
Agency lets students catch Z’s on the job
College students in Salt Lake City are finding their jobs with Intermountain Health Care (IHC) are real snoozers.The "sleepers" essentially "sleep at a client’s home during the night simply because the family needs an extra person for security and safety reasons," explains Sherry Smith, RN, nursing manager. If the client wants to get out of bed during the night, he or she rings a bell placed at the bedside by the sleeper, and the sleeper gets up and goes with him or her to the bathroom or wherever he or she needs to go. (For more information about companion services, see related story, p. 104.)
The biggest benefit the agency has derived from the program is a reduction in client falls. "We were finding that some of our clients were having falls mainly at night when they were alone," she recalls.
"We’ve seen a significant decrease in the number of falls our clients are experiencing by simply having someone there to get up with them." Although Smith was unable to cite the number of falls that have been reduced, she said the agency had one client who fell two or three times every month, but when a sleeper began staying with her, her falls were reduced to zero.
If a client needs medical attention during the night, the sleepers call one of the on-call directors.
Smith often recruits for the sleeper position through current and former clients. "We’ve recruited many sleepers whom we have gotten to know because we’ve taken care of one of their family members," says Smith, adding that background checks are conducted on all candidates.
"We’re looking for young people who are really stable, have good grades, and are social, so we check references very carefully," says Smith, who employs between six and eight sleepers at any given time.
The sleepers typically earn between $7 and $9 per hour and work a set schedule three to four nights per week. They also rotate through the weekends, so they’re not working every weekend.
Smith explains that the directors’ reaction to using companions in this capacity has been "very positive because they don’t have to worry about their clients at night. Home health nurses tend to get involved with their families. These are people they care about, so if the sleepers can stop any accident or increase the safety, it relieves their stress."
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